10 terms GIS people should know in 2013Directions MagazineAre there terms you come across in your day to day work whose definitions still seem fuzzy? Do you "sort of" know what they mean, but if pressed you couldn't confidently provide a definition? Our editors share some terms that still make them uncomfortable and offer definitions.

Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference — Call for abstractsGITAThe Advisory Board is now accepting abstracts for the 2013 Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference. We invite you to submit an abstract no later than July 12. When submitting an abstract, you will be asked to select a topic for which you wish to submit your abstract. Your abstract should address at least one of five specific topics.

Value of locationSpatial SourceEuropean economics firm, Oxera Consulting Ltd, in January 2013, estimated that global revenues from geospatial services and products are between $150 to $270 billion per year. Benefits to the economy, consumers and businesses alike include: 3.5 billion liters of gasoline saved globally each year due to improved navigation; faster emergency services responses; as well as significant time savings, a more informed population through access to information on cities and places of interest, a more educated workforce, and increased business competition.

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House committee makes deeper cuts to FY14 GPS budgetInside GNSSThe House Appropriations Committee made a series of cuts to GPS programs that, if agreed to by the Senate, suggest an overall slowdown in the pace of GPS modernization. While lawmakers on the House Authorization Committee agreed to the full amount of each of the president's GPS-related requests, their counterparts on the Appropriations Committee cut a total of just over 9 percent from the budget request for GPS spacecraft, ground systems and user equipment.

Build your own vector based web map of US riversGIS UserYou may have already seen the infographic entitled "All of America's Waterways on One Map" making the rounds on various social media channels. The visual is a stunning look at all of the hydrographic features in America, and indeed it is quite impressive. But what you may not have seen is what's behind the scenes and how to make this webmap for yourself!

Senator: Fix roads and bridges or expect the worstLand LineSen. Patty Murray says the U.S. can expect more disasters like the recent collapse of a bridge on Interstate 5 in her home state of Washington unless Congress takes bold steps to improve the nation's infrastructure.

New York's smart grid love-fest (and how to have one in your state)Smart Grid NewsNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been ultra-tough on utilities, as we told you early this year when Cuomo asked for the power to shut down under-performing utilities. But he and other New York leaders are in love with the smart grid, now that they see it as a way to make the state more resilient to storms and floods. Given that smart grids and smart meters are subject to protests and lawsuits in other parts of the country, it may pay to study New York for ideas.

Should the geospatial industry improve their location privacy self-policing?Sensors & SystemsOur collective notion of privacy, whether via mobile or online interactions, took a giant hit a few weeks ago with the revelation of the lengths that the U.S. National Security Agency has gone to collect and analyze personal communications. The daily reports of user location that the NSA has collected from our telephone providers, among other records from other services, has caused grave global concern.

Google confirms antitrust review of Waze dealThe Wall Street JournalGoogle confirmed that it has been contacted by lawyers from the Federal Trade Commission over the company's $1.1 billion acquisition of the mobile navigation company Waze, which closed in mid-June. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment on details of the antitrust review by the FTC. Representatives of the agency didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

A geographer mentors job seekersDirections MagazineBy Tom Zumbado: My father-in-law once told me that job hunting is a full-time job. I got the gist of what he was saying, but I never fully understood the magnitude of his words until it came time for me to start searching. I must have sent out 100-plus applications after I received my MS in Geography. Defense, government, private industry, law schools, PhD programs, the sky was the limit, and I was set to cast my net as wide as I could.